-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, BsX3Lx4Gj4oAb6325/WCZ0xjhEl7ZTR0gQVuFwWsoB5jpn7deAz298d1QgJE3xes gw4KwZsnNpXvrLbR6jvY5A== 0000950146-99-001696.txt : 19991101 0000950146-99-001696.hdr.sgml : 19991101 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000950146-99-001696 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 485APOS PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 1 FILED AS OF DATE: 19991029 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: MUTUAL FUND TRUST CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000919034 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: [] STATE OF INCORPORATION: MA FISCAL YEAR END: 0831 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 485APOS SEC ACT: SEC FILE NUMBER: 033-75250 FILM NUMBER: 99736842 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 1 CHASE MANHATTAN PLAZA STREET 2: 3RD FLOOR CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10081 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: ONE CHASE SQUARE 7TH FLOOR CITY: ROCHESTER STATE: NY ZIP: 14643 485APOS 1 FORM N-1A REGISTRATION STATEMENT As filed via EDGAR with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 29, 1999 File No. 811-8358 Registration No. 33-75250 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 ------------------ FORM N-1A REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 |X| Pre-Effective Amendment No. |_| Post-Effective Amendment No. 17 |X| and REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 Post-Effective Amendment No. 17 |X| ------------------------------ MUTUAL FUND TRUST (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter) 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 41st Floor New York, New York 10036 -------------------------------------------------- (Address of Principal Executive Office) Registrant's Telephone Number, including Area Code: (212) 492-1600
Copies to: George Martinez, Esq. Peter Eldridge, Esq Gary S. Schpero, Esq. Mutual Fund Trust The Chase Manhattan Bank Simpson Thacher & Bartlett 125 West 55th Street 270 Park Avenue 425 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10019 New York, New York 10017 New York, New York 10017 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Name and Address of Agent for Service) It is proposed that this filing will become effective: | | immediately upon filing pursuant | | on ( ) pursuant to paragraph (b) to paragraph (b) |X| 60 days after filing pursuant to |_| on ( ) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) paragraph (a)(1) | | 75 days after filing pursuant to |_| on ( ) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) paragraph (a)(2) rule 485. If appropriate, check the following box: |_| this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment. ------------------ The Registrant has registered an indefinite number or amount of its shares of common stock for each of its three series of shares under the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to Rule 24f-2 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 on July 18, 1994 and the Rule 24f-2 Notice for the Registrant's fiscal year ended August 31, 1998 was filed on November 20, 1998. EXPLANATORY NOTE [front cover] PROSPECTUS DECEMBER 29, 1999 Chase Vista Tax Free Income Funds TAX FREE INCOME THIS PROSPECTUS OFFERS: FUND CLASS A SHARES OF ALL FUNDS NEW YORK TAX FREE INCOME FUND PLUS CLASS B SHARES OF TAX FREE CALIFORNIA INTERMEDIATE TAX INCOME FUND AND NEW YORK TAX FREE INCOME FUND FREE INCOME FUND Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of securities of any of the Funds or determined if this prospectus is accurate or complete. It is a crime to indicate otherwise. [logo: CHASE VISTA FUNDS(SM)] XXXX-1-1299 TAX FREE INCOME FUND 1 NEW YORK TAX FREE INCOME FUND 9 CALIFORNIA INTERMEDIATE TAX FREE INCOME FUND 19 THE FUNDS' INVESTMENT ADVISER AND YEAR 2000 26 - ----------------------------------------------------- HOW YOUR ACCOUNT WORKS 27 - ----------------------------------------------------- ABOUT SALES CHARGES 27 BUYING FUND SHARES 29 SELLING FUND SHARES 31 EXCHANGING FUND SHARES 32 OTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING THE FUNDS 32 DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES 33 - ----------------------------------------------------- SHAREHOLDER SERVICES 35 - ----------------------------------------------------- - ----------------------------------------------------- WHAT THE TERMS MEAN 36 - ----------------------------------------------------- - ----------------------------------------------------- FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 37 - ----------------------------------------------------- - ----------------------------------------------------- HOW TO REACH US Back cover - -----------------------------------------------------
CHASE VISTA TAX FREE INCOME FUND - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [start sidebar] The Fund's objective The Fund seeks to provide monthly dividends which are excluded from gross income and to protect the value of your investment by investing primarily in municipal obligations. [end sidebar] The Fund's main investment strategy As a fundamental policy, the Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in municipal obligations, the interest on which is excluded from gross income and which is also excluded from the federal alternative minimum tax on individuals. The Fund invests in securities that are rated Baa or higher by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., BBB or higher by Standard & Poor's Corporation or the equivalent rating by another national rating organization or unrated securities of comparable quality. The Fund may also invest in derivatives, inverse floaters and interest rate caps, zero coupon securities and forward commitments. These instruments may be used to increase the Fund's income or gain. Derivatives, which are financial instruments whose value is based on another security, index or exchange rate, might also be used. The Fund seeks to develop an appropriate portfolio by comparing, among other factors, credit quality, yields and call provisions of different municipal issuers, and examining structural changes along the yield curve in an attempt to maximize investment returns while minimizing risk. There is no restriction on the maturity of the Fund's portfolio or on any individual security in the portfolio. 1 CHASE VISTA TAX FREE INCOME FUND Under normal market conditions, the Fund reserves the right to invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities that pay interest subject to federal income tax or the federal alternative minimum tax on individuals. To temporarily defend the value of its assets during unusual market conditions, the Fund may exceed this limit. No more than 25% of total assets may be invested in any one industry, other than governments and public authorities. The Fund may invest in money market funds to increase its ability to easily convert investments into cash without losing a significant amount of money in the process. The Fund may also invest in municipal lease obligations. These allow participations in municipal lease agreements or installments purchase contracts. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in municipal obligations backed by letters of credit or guarantees from U.S. and foreign banks and other foreign institutions. There may be times when there are not enough municipal securities available to meet the Fund's needs. On these occasions, the Fund may invest in repurchase agreements or Treasury securities which may be subject to federal income tax. The Fund may change any of its non-fundamental investment policies (but may not change its investment objective) without shareholder approval. [Chase logo] [start sidebar] FREQUENCY OF TRADING How frequently the Fund buys and sells securities will vary from year to year, depending on market conditions. [end sidebar] 2 The Fund's main investment risks All mutual funds carry a certain amount of risk. You may lose money on your investment in the Fund. Here are some specific risks of investing in the Tax Free Income Fund. The principal value of fixed income investments tends to fall when prevailing interest rates rise. A municipality that gets into financial trouble could find it difficult to make interest and principal payments, which would hurt the Fund's returns and its ability to preserve capital and liquidity. A number of issuers have a recent history of significant financial difficulties. More than 5% of the Fund's assets may be invested in any one municipality which could increase this risk. Under some circumstances, municipal obligations might not pay interest unless the state or municipal legislature authorizes money for that purpose. Some securities, including municipal lease obligations, carry additional risks. For example, they may be difficult to trade or interest payments may be tied only to a specific stream of revenue. Normally, the fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Consult your tax professional for more information. Since some municipal obligations may be secured or guaranteed by banks and other institutions, the risk to the Fund could increase if the banking or financial sector suffers an economic downturn. [start sidebar] Investments in the Fund are not bank deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, The Chase Manhattan Bank or any of its affiliates and are not insured by the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency. [end sidebar] 3 CHASE VISTA TAX FREE INCOME FUND The Fund may invest in municipal obligations backed by foreign institutions. These could carry more risk than securities backed by U.S. institutions, because of political or economic instability, the imposition of government controls, or regulations that don't match U.S. standards. The value of zero coupon securities and inverse floaters tends to fluctuate according to interest rate changes significantly more than the value of ordinary interest-paying debt securities. The price of a security with an interest rate cap will be more volatile than a municipal security without it. A forward commitment could lose value if the underlying security falls in value before the settlement date or if the other party defaults on its obligation to complete the transaction. Derivatives may be more risky than other investments because they may respond more to changes in economic conditions than other types of investments. If they are used for non-hedging purposes, they could cause losses that exceed the Fund's original investment. The Fund is not diversified. It may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer or group of issuers than a diversified fund would. That makes it more susceptible to economic problems among the institutions issuing the securities. In addition, more than 25% of the Fund's assets may be invested in securities which rely on similar projects for their income stream. As a result, the Fund could be more susceptible to developments which affect those projects. [Chase logo] 4 The Fund's past performance This section shows the Fund's performance record. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Class A shares has varied from year to year. This provides some indication of the risk of investing in the Fund. The table shows the average annual return over the past one, five and 10 years. It compares that performance to Lehman Municipal Bond Index, a widely recognized benchmark for income funds. The calculations assume that all dividends and distributions are reinvested in the Fund. [Chase logo] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] YEAR-BY-YEAR RETURNS Past performance does not predict how this Fund will perform in the future. The performance figures in the bar chart do not reflect any deduction for the front-end sales load which is assessed on Class A shares. If the load were reflected, the performance figures would have been lower. The total return for the Fund from January 1, 1998 to September 30, 1998 was 5.92%. - ------------------------------------- BEST QUARTER 7.35% - ------------------------------------- 1st quarter, 1995 - ------------------------------------- WORST QUARTER -6.53% - ------------------------------------- 1st quarter, 1994
5 CHASE VISTA TAX FREE INCOME FUND AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS For the periods ending December 31, 1998
PAST 1 YEAR PAST 5 YEARS PAST 10 YEARS CLASS A SHARES CLASS B SHARES LEHMAN MUNICIPAL BOND INDEX
The performance for Class A shares reflects the deduction of the maximum front-end sales load and the performance for Class B shares reflects the deduction of the applicable contingent deferred sales load. Class B shares were first offered on November 4, 1993. The performance for the period before Class B shares were launched is based upon performance for Class A shares of the Fund. The actual returns of Class B shares would have been lower than shown because Class B shares have higher expenses than Class A shares. 6 Fees and expenses This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. SHAREHOLDER FEES (FEES PAID DIRECTLY FROM YOUR INVESTMENT):
MAXIMUM SALES CHARGE MAXIMUM DEFERRED SALES (LOAD) WHEN YOU BUY CHARGE (LOAD) SHOWN AS SHARES, SHOWN AS % OF THE LOWER OF ORIGINAL PURCHASE OFFERING PRICE(1) PRICE OR REDEMPTION PROCEEDS CLASS A SHARES 4.5% NONE CLASS B SHARES NONE 5.00%
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (EXPENSES THAT ARE DEDUCTED FROM FUND ASSETS):*
TOTAL ANNUAL MANAGEMENT DISTRIBUTION OTHER FUND OPERATING CLASS OF SHARES FEE (12B-1) FEES EXPENSES EXPENSES CLASS A 0.30% 0.25% 0.79% 1.34% CLASS B 0.30% 0.75% 0.79% 1.84%
(1) The offering price is the net asset value of the shares bought plus any sales charge. *The table is based on expenses incurred in the most recent fiscal year. The actual Management Fee is currently expected to be 0.10%, the 12b-1 Fee is expected to be 0.00% for Class A Shares, Other Expenses are expected to be 0.65% for Class A shares and the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses are expected not to exceed 0.75% for Class A shares and 1.64% for Class B shares. That's because The Chase Manhattan Bank (Chase) and some of the Fund's other service providers have volunteered not to collect a portion of their fees and to reimburse others. Chase and these other service providers may end this arrangement at any time. The table does not reflect charges or credits which an investor might incur if they invest through a financial institution. 7 CHASE VISTA TAX FREE INCOME FUND EXAMPLE This example helps you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes: o you invest $10,000 o you sell all your shares at the end of the period o your investment has a 5% return each year, and o the Fund's operating expenses are not waived and remain the same as shown above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions: IF YOU SELL YOUR SHARES YOUR COSTS WOULD BE:
NUMBER OF YEARS: 1 3 5 10 CLASS A SHARES* $580 $855 $1,151 $1,990 CLASS B SHARES** $687 $879 $1,195 $2,028***
IF YOU DON'T SELL YOUR SHARES YOUR COSTS WOULD BE:
NUMBER OF YEARS: 1 3 5 10 CLASS B SHARES $187 $579 $995 $2,028***
*Assumes sales charge is deducted when shares are purchased. **Assumes applicable deferred sales charge is deducted when shares are sold. ***Reflects conversion of Class B shares to Class A shares after they have been owned for 8 years. The costs above are based on pre-waiver Annual Fund Operating Expenses. 8 CHASE VISTA NEW YORK TAX FREE INCOME FUND [start sidebar] The Fund's objective The Fund seeks to provide monthly dividends that are excluded from gross income and exempt from New York State and New York City personal income taxes. It also seeks to protect the value of your investment. [end sidebar] The Fund's main investment strategy As a fundamental policy, the Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in New York municipal obligations. These investments generate interest that is excluded from gross income and is exempt from New York State and New York City income taxes, and from the federal alternative minimum tax on individuals. New York municipal obligations are those issued by New York State, its political subdivisions, as well as Puerto Rico, other U.S. territories and their political subdivisions. The Fund invests primarily in securities that are rated Baa or higher by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., BBB or higher by Standard & Poor's Corporation or the equivalent rating by another national rating organization or unrated securities of comparable quality. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in lower-rated high yield securities (junk bonds). Lower-rated securities are those which are rated Ba or lower by Moody's, BB or lower by S&P or the equivalent of another national rating organization or unrated securities of comparable quality. High yield securities in the Fund's portfolio may be rated as low as C by Moody's or D by S&P, or the equivalent. 9 CHASE VISTA NEW YORK TAX FREE INCOME FUND The Fund may also invest in derivatives, inverse floaters and interest rate caps, zero coupon securities and forward commitments. These instruments may be used to increase the Fund's income or gain. Derivatives, which are financial instruments whose value is based on another security, index or exchange rate, might also be used. The Fund seeks to develop an appropriate portfolio by comparing, among other factors, credit quality, yields and call provisions of different municipal issuers, and examining structural changes along the yield curve in an attempt to maximize investment returns while minimizing risk. There is no restriction on the maturity of the Fund's portfolio or on any individual security in the portfolio. Under normal market conditions, the Fund reserves the right to invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities that pay interest subject to federal income tax or the federal alternative minimum tax on individuals. To temporarily defend the value of its assets during unusual market conditions, the Fund may exceed this limit. No more than 25% of total assets may be invested in any one industry, other than governments and public authorities. The Fund may invest in money market funds to increase its ability to easily convert investments into cash without losing a significant amount of money in the process. [start sidebar] FREQUENCY OF TRADING How frequently the Fund buys and sells securities will vary from year to year, depending on market conditions. [end sidebar] 10 The Fund may also invest in municipal lease obligations. These allow participations in municipal lease agreements or installment purchase contracts. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in municipal obligations backed by letters of credit or guarantees from U.S. and foreign banks and other financial institutions. There may be times when there are not enough municipal securities available to meet the Fund's needs. On these occasions, the Fund may invest in repurchase agreements or Treasury securities which may be subject to federal income tax. The Fund may change any of its non-fundamental investment policies (including its investment objective) without shareholder approval. [Chase logo] 11 CHASE VISTA NEW YORK TAX FREE INCOME FUND The Fund's main investment risks All mutual funds carry a certain amount of risk. You may lose money on your investment in the Fund. Here are some specific risks of investing in the New York Tax Free Income Fund. The principal value of fixed income investments tends to fall when prevailing interest rates rise. The Fund invests primarily in New York State and its municipalities and public authorities. A number of municipal issuers, including the State of New York and New York City, have a history of financial problems. If the state, or any of the local government bodies, gets into financial trouble, it could have trouble paying interest and principal. This would hurt the Fund's returns and its ability to preserve capital and liquidity. If more than 5% of the Fund's assets are invested in any one municipality, this risk could increase. High yield debt securities may carry greater risks than securities which have a higher credit rating, including a high risk of default. The yields of lower-rated securities will move up and down over time. The credit rating of a high yield security evaluates the ability of the issuer to make principal and interest or dividend payments; it does not necessarily address its market value risk. Ratings and market value may change, positively or negatively, from time to time to reflect new developments regarding the issuer. However, since ratings may not always change quickly and frequently enough to reflect these new developments, the advisers perform their own analysis of high yield issuers. Because of this, the Fund's performance may depend more on subjective credit analysis than other funds which invest in investment-grade securities. [start sidebar] Investments in the Fund are not bank deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, The Chase Manhattan Bank or any of its affiliates and are not insured by the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency. [end sidebar] 12 Companies which issue high yield securities are often young and growing and have a lot of debt. High yield securities are considered speculative, meaning there is a significant risk that the issuer may not be able to repay principal or pay interest or dividends on time. In addition, the issuer's other creditors may have the right to be paid before holders of the high yield security. During an economic downturn, a period of rising interest rates or a recession, issuers of high yield securities that have a lot of debt may experience financial problems. They may not have enough cash to make their payments. An economic downturn could also hurt the market for lower-rated securities and the Fund. The market for high yield securities is not as liquid as the markets for higher rated securities. This means that it may be harder to sell high yield securities, especially on short notice. The market could also be hurt by legal or tax changes. Securities which are rated C or D may not pay interest, may be in default or may be considered to have an extremely poor chance of ever achieving any real investment standing. The cost of investing in high yield markets is usually higher than investing in investment grade securities. That's because the Fund has to spend more money for investing research and commissions. Securities which are rated Baa by Moody's or BBB by S&P may have fewer protective provisions and are generally more risky than higher rated securities. The issuer may have trouble making principal and interest payments when difficult economic conditions arise. Under some circumstances, municipal obligations might not pay interest unless the state or municipal legislature authorizes money for this purpose. Some securities, such as municipal lease obligations, carry additional risks. For example, they may be difficult to trade or interest payments may be tied only to a specific stream of revenue. Normally, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Consult your tax professional for more information. Since some municipal obligations may be secured or guaranteed by banks and other institutions, the risk to the Fund could increase if the banking or financial sector suffers an economic downturn. The Fund may invest in municipal obligations backed by foreign institutions. These could carry more risk than securities backed by U.S. institutions, because of political or economic instability, the imposition of government controls, or regulations that don't match U.S. standards. The value of zero coupon securities and inverse floaters caps tends to fluctuate according to changes in interest rates significantly more than the value of ordinary interest-paying debt securities. The price of a security with an interest rate cap will be more volatile than a municipal security without one. 13 CHASE VISTA NEW YORK TAX FREE INCOME FUND A forward commitment could lose value if the value of the security declines before the settlement date or if the other party defaults on its obligations to complete the transaction. Derivatives may be more risky than other investments because they may respond more to changes in economic conditions than other types of investments. If they are used for non-hedging purposes, they could cause losses that exceed the Fund's original investment. The Fund is not diversified. It may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer or group of issuers than a diversified fund would. That makes it more susceptible to economic problems of the institutions issuing the securities. In addition, more than 25% of the Fund's assets may be invested in securities which rely on similar projects for their income stream. As a result, the Fund could be more susceptible to developments which affect those projects. [Chase logo] 14 The Fund's past performance This section shows the Fund's performance record. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Class A shares has varied from year to year. This provides some indication of the risk of investing in the Fund. The table shows the average annual return over the past one, five and 10 years. It compares that performance to Lehman Municipal Bond Index, a widely recognized benchmark for income funds. The calculations assume that all dividends and distributions are reinvested in the Fund. [Chase logo] YEAR-BY-YEAR RETURNS Past performance does not predict how this Fund will perform in the future. The performance figures in the bar chart do not reflect any deduction for the front-end sales load which is assessed on Class A shares. If the load were reflected, the performance figures would have been lower. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] The total return for the Fund from January 1, 1998 to September 30, 1998 was 5.66%. - --------------------------------------- BEST QUARTER 7.04% - --------------------------------------- 2nd Quarter, 1989 - --------------------------------------- WORST QUARTER -5.47% - --------------------------------------- 1st Quarter, 1994
15 CHASE VISTA NEW YORK TAX FREE INCOME FUND AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS For the periods ending December 31, 1998
PAST 1 YEAR PAST 5 YEARS PAST 10 YEARS CLASS A SHARES CLASS B SHARES LEHMAN MUNICIPAL BOND INDEX
The performance for Class A shares reflects the deduction of the maximum front-end sales load and the performance for Class B shares reflects the deduction of the applicable contingent deferred sales load. Class B shares were first offered on November 4, 1993. The performance for the period before Class B shares were launched is based upon performance for Class A shares of the Fund. The actual returns of Class B shares would have been lower than shown because Class B shares have higher expenses than Class A shares. 16 Fees and expenses This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. SHAREHOLDER FEES (FEES PAID DIRECTLY FROM YOUR INVESTMENT):
MAXIMUM SALES CHARGE MAXIMUM DEFERRED SALES (LOAD) WHEN YOU BUY CHARGE (LOAD) SHOWN AS SHARES, SHOWN AS % OF THE LOWER OF ORIGINAL PURCHASE OFFERING PRICE(1) PRICE OR REDEMPTION PROCEEDS CLASS A SHARES 4.5% NONE CLASS B SHARES NONE 5.00%
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (EXPENSES THAT ARE DEDUCTED FROM FUND ASSETS):*
TOTAL ANNUAL MANAGEMENT DISTRIBUTION OTHER FUND OPERATING CLASS OF SHARES FEE (12B-1) FEES EXPENSES EXPENSES CLASS A 0.30% 0.25% 0.64% 1.19% CLASS B 0.30% 0.75% 0.64% 1.69%
(1) The offering price is the net asset value of the shares bought plus any sales charge. *The table is based on expenses incurred in the most recent fiscal year. Some of the actual figures differ from the numbers in the chart above. The actual Management Fee is currently expected to be 0.25% the 12b-1 Fee is expected to be 0.00% for Class A shares, Other Expenses are expected to be 0.50% for Class A shares and the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses are expected not to exceed 0.75% for Class A shares and 1.64% for Class B shares. That's because The Chase Manhattan Bank (Chase) and some of the Fund's other service providers have volunteered not to collect part of their fees and to reimburse others. They can terminate this arrangement at any time. The table does not reflect charges or credits which an investor might incur if they invest through a financial institution. 17 CHASE VISTA NEW YORK TAX FREE INCOME FUND EXAMPLE This example helps you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes: o you invest $10,000 o you sell all your shares at the end of the period o your investment has a 5% return each year, and o the Fund's operating expenses are not waived and remain the same as shown above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions: IF YOU SELL YOUR SHARES YOUR COSTS WOULD BE:
NUMBER OF YEARS: 1 3 5 10 CLASS A SHARES* $566 $811 $1,075 $1,828 CLASS B SHARES** $672 $833 $1,118 $1,865***
IF YOU DON'T SELL YOUR SHARES YOUR COSTS WOULD BE:
NUMBER OF YEARS: 1 3 5 10 CLASS B SHARES $172 $533 $918 $1,865***
*Assumes sales charge is deducted when shares are purchased. **Assumes applicable deferred sales charge is deducted when shares are sold. ***Reflects conversion of Class B shares to Class A shares after they have been owned for 8 years. The costs above are based on pre-waiver Annual Fund Operating Expenses. 18 CHASE VISTA CALIFORNIA INTERMEDIATE TAX FREE INCOME FUND [start sidebar] The Fund's objective The Fund seeks to provide current income which is exempt from federal and California personal income taxes. [start sidebar] The Fund's main investment strategy As a fundamental policy, the Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in California municipal obligations and other securities which generate interest that is exempt from federal, California and local income taxes, and from federal alternative minimum tax on individuals. California obligations are those issued by the State of California, its political subdivisions, authorities and corporations. The Fund invests in securities that are rated Baa or higher by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., BBB or higher by Standard & Poor's Corporation or the equivalent rating by another national rating organization or unrated securities of comparable quality. The Fund may also invest in derivatives, inverse floaters and interest rate caps, zero coupon securities and forward commitments. These instruments may be used to increase the Fund's income or gain. Derivatives, which are financial instruments whose value is based on another security, index or exchange rate, might also be used. The Fund seeks to develop an appropriate portfolio by comparing, among other factors, credit quality, yields and call provisions of different municipal issuers, and examining structural changes along the yield curve in an attempt to maximize investment returns while minimizing risk. 19 CHASE VISTA CALIFORNIA INTERMEDIATE TAX FREE INCOME FUND The Fund's portfolio has an average maturity of 10 years or less. Under normal market conditions, the Fund reserves the right to invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities that pay dividends subject to federal and California personal income tax or the federal alternative minimum tax on individuals. To temporarily defend the value of its assets during unusual market conditions, the Fund may exceed this limit. No more than 25% of total assets may be invested in any one industry, other than governments and public authorities. The Fund may invest in money market funds to increase its ability to easily convert investments into cash without losing a significant amount of money in the process. The Fund may also invest in municipal lease obligations. These allow participation in municipal lease agreements or installment purchase contracts. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in municipal obligations backed by letters of credit or guarantees from U.S. and foreign banks and other foreign institutions. There may be times when there are not enough municipal securities available to meet the Fund's needs. On these occasions, the Fund may invest in repurchase agreements or Treasury securities which may be subject to federal income tax. The Fund may change any of its non-fundamental investment policies (including its investment objective) without shareholder approval. [Chase logo] [start sidebar] FREQUENCY OF TRADING How frequently the Fund will buy and sell securities will vary from year to year, depending on the market conditions. [end sidebar] 20 The Fund's main investment risks All mutual funds carry a certain amount of risk. You may lose money on your investment in the Fund. Here are some specific risks of investing in the California Intermediate Tax Free Income Fund. The principal value of fixed income investments tends to fall when prevailing interest rates rise. The Fund invests primarily in the State of California and its municipalities and public authorities. If the state or any of these local government bodies gets into financial difficulties, it could have trouble making interest and principal payments. This would diminish the Fund's returns and its ability to preserve capital and liquidity. Some California municipalities, as well as the State of California and certain counties, have recently encountered financial difficulties. Orange County, for instance, recently defaulted on its debt. If the Fund invests more than 5% of its assets in any one municipality, this risk could increase. Under some circumstances, municipal obligations might not pay interest unless the municipal legislature authorizes money for this purpose. Some securities, such as municipal lease obligations, carry additional risks. For example, they may be difficult to trade or interest payments may be tied only to a specific stream of revenue. Normally, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Consult your tax professional for more information. Since some municipal obligations may be secured or guaranteed by banks and other institutions, the risk to the Fund could increase if the banking or financial sector suffers an economic downturn. [start sidebar] Investments in the Fund are not bank deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, The Chase Manhattan Bank or any of its affiliates and are not insured by the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency. [end sidebar] 21 CHASE VISTA CALIFORNIA INTERMEDIATE TAX FREE INCOME FUND The Fund may invest in municipal obligations backed by foreign institutions. These could carry more risk than securities backed by U.S. institutions, because of political or economic instability, the imposition of government controls, or regulations that don't match U.S. standards. The value of zero coupon securities and inverse floaters caps tends to fluctuate according to changes in interest rates significantly more than the value of ordinary interest-paying debt securities. The price of a security with an interest rate cap will be more volatile than a municipal security without one. A forward commitment could lose value if the value of the security declines before the settlement date or if the other party defaults on its obligations to complete the transaction. Derivatives may be more risky than other investments because they may respond more to changes in economic conditions than other types of investments. If they are used for non-hedging purposes, they could cause losses that exceed the Fund's original investment. The Fund is not diversified. It may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer or group of issuers than a diversified fund would. That makes it more susceptible to economic problems of the institutions issuing the securities. In addition, more than 25% of the Fund's assets may be invested in securities which rely on similar projects for their income stream. As a result, the Fund could be more susceptible to developments which affect those projects. [Chase logo] 22 The Fund's past performance This section shows the Fund's performance record. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Class A shares has varied from year to year. This provides some indication of the risk of investing in the Fund. The table shows the average annual return over the past year and since the Fund began. It compares that performance to Lehman Municipal Bond Index, a widely recognized benchmark for income funds. The calculations assume that all dividends and distributions are reinvested in the Fund. [Chase logo] YEAR-BY-YEAR RETURNS Past performance does not predict how this Fund will perform in the future. The performance figures in the bar chart do not reflect any deduction for the front-end sales load which is assessed on Class A shares. If the load were reflected, the performance figures would have been lower. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] The total return for the Fund from January 1, 1998 to September 30, 1998 was 6.23%. - --------------------------------------- BEST QUARTER 5.66% - --------------------------------------- 1st Quarter, 1995 - --------------------------------------- WORST QUARTER -3.60% - --------------------------------------- 1st Quarter, 1994
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS For the periods ending December 31, 1998
SINCE INCEPTION PAST 1 YEAR 11/1/93 CLASS A SHARES LEHMAN MUNICIPAL BOND INDEX
The performance for Class A shares reflects the deduction of the maximum front-end sales load. 23 CHASE VISTA CALIFORNIA INTERMEDIATE TAX FREE INCOME FUND Fees and expenses This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. SHAREHOLDER FEES (FEES PAID DIRECTLY FROM YOUR INVESTMENT):
MAXIMUM SALES CHARGE (LOAD) WHEN YOU BUY MAXIMUM DEFERRED SALES SHARES, SHOWN AS % OF THE CHARGE (LOAD) WHEN YOU OFFERING PRICE(1) SELL SHARES CLASS A 4.5% NONE
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (EXPENSES THAT ARE DEDUCTED FROM FUND ASSETS):*
TOTAL ANNUAL MANAGEMENT DISTRIBUTION OTHER FUND OPERATING FEE (12B-1) FEES EXPENSES EXPENSES CLASS A 0.30% 0.25% 0.90% 1.45%
(1)The offering price is the net asset value of the shares bought plus any sales charge. *The table is based on expenses incurred in the most recent fiscal year. The actual Management Fee is currently expected to be 0.00%, the 12b-1 Fee is expected to be 0.00%, Other Expenses are expected to be 0.60% and the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses are expected not to exceed 0.60%. That's because The Chase Manhattan Bank (Chase) and some of the Fund's other service providers have volunteered not to collect part of their fees and to reimburse others. They can terminate this arrangement at any time. The table does not reflect charges or credits which an investor might incur if they invest through a financial institution. 24 EXAMPLE This example helps you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes: o you invest $10,000 o you sell all your shares at the end of the period o your investment has a 5% return each year, and o the Fund's operating expenses are not waived and remain the same as shown above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions: IF YOU SELL YOUR SHARES YOUR COSTS WOULD BE:
NUMBER OF YEARS: 1 3 5 10 CLASS A SHARES* $591 $888 $1,207 $2,107
*Assumes sales charge is deducted when shares are purchased. The costs above are based on pre-waiver Annual Fund Operating Expenses. 25 THE FUNDS' INVESTMENT ADVISER The Funds' investment adviser The Chase Manhattan Bank (Chase) is the investment adviser to the Funds. Chase is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Chase Manhattan Corporation (CMC), a bank holding company. Chase provides the Funds with investment advice and supervision. Chase and its predecessors have more than a century of money management experience. Chase is located at 270 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10017. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 1999, Chase received management fees at the annual rate of %, % and % of the average daily net assets of the Tax Free Income Fund, New York Tax Free Income Fund and California Tax Free Income Fund. Chase Asset Management, Inc. (CAM) is the sub-adviser to the Funds. CAM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chase. It makes the day-to-day investment decisions for the Funds. CAM provides discretionary investment advisory services to institutional clients. CAM is located at 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036. Pamela Hunter has been responsible for the day-to-day management of each of the Funds since they began. Ms. Hunter is a Managing Director of Chase and heads the team providing fixed income strategy and product development. She has held these positions for over five years and has worked for Chase and its predecessors since 1980. [start sidebar] THE YEAR 2000 The Funds, like any business, could be affected if the computer systems on which it relies fail to properly process information beginning on January 1, 2000. The Funds' advisers are updating their own systems and encouraging service providers to do the same, but there's no guarantee these systems will work properly. Year 2000 problems could also hurt issuers whose securities the Funds hold or securities markets generally. [end sidebar] 26 HOW YOUR ACCOUNT WORKS About sales charges There is a sales charge to buy shares in the Funds. There are also ongoing charges that all investors pay as long as they own their shares, as explained later. There is no sales charge on the reinvestment of distributions. For the Tax Free Income Fund and the New York Tax Free Income Fund, you have a choice of two different kinds of charges. Class A shares have a charge you pay when you invest. Class B shares have a deferred sales charge. You don't pay any charge when you buy the Class B shares, but you may have to pay a charge when you sell them, depending on how long you hold them. Shares of the California Tax Free Income Fund described in this prospectus are Class A shares. There are a number of plans and special discounts which can decrease or even eliminate these charges. This section explains how the two sales charges work. 27 HOW YOUR ACCOUNT WORKS CLASS A SHARES The initial sales charge is deducted directly from the money you invest. As the table shows, the charge is lower the more you invest. The public offering price of Class A shares is the net asset value plus the initial sales charge. Net asset value is the value of everything the Fund owns, minus everything it owes, divided by the number of shares held by investors. The Fund receives the net asset value.
TOTAL SALES CHARGE AS % OF THE AS % AMOUNT OF OFFERING OF NET INVESTMENT PRICE AMOUNT IN A FUND PER SHARE INVESTED LESS THAN $100,000 4.5% 4.71% $100,000 BUT UNDER $250,000 3.75% 3.90% $250,000 BUT UNDER $500,000 2.50% 2.56% $500,000 BUT UNDER $1 MILLION 2.00% 2.04%
There is no initial sales charge for investments of $1 million or more in a Fund. CLASS B SHARES The deferred sales charge is deducted directly from your assets when you sell your shares. It's a percentage of the original purchase price or the current value of the shares, whichever is lower. As the table shows, the deferred sales charge gets cheaper the longer you hold the shares and disappears altogether after six years. Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares at the beginning of the ninth year after you bought them.
YEAR DEFERRED SALES CHARGE 1 5% 2 4% 3 3% 4 3% 5 2% 6 1% 7 NONE 8 NONE
We calculate the deferred sales charge from the month you buy your shares. We always sell the shares with the lowest deferred sales charge first. Shares acquired by reinvestment of distribution can be sold without a deferred sales charge. Vista Fund Distributors Inc. (VFD) is the distributor for the Funds. It's a subsidiary of The BISYS Group, Inc. and is not affiliated with Chase. The Tax Free Income Fund and New York Tax Free Income Fund have each adopted Rule 12b-1 distribution plans under which they pay annual distribution fees of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets attributed to Class A shares and up to 0.75% of the average daily net assets attributed to Class B shares. The California Tax Free Income Fund has adopted a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan under which it pays annual distribution fees of up to 0.25% of the Fund's average daily net assets. This payment covers such things as compensation for services provided by broker-dealers and expenses connected to the sale of shares. Payments are not tied to actual expenses incurred. Because 12b-1 expenses are paid out of a fund's assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your invest- 28 ment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges. CLASS A OR CLASS B: WHICH IS BETTER? Your decision about which class of shares to buy depends on a number of factors, including the amount you're buying and how long you intend to hold your shares. If you have no plans to sell your shares for at least six years and you don't want to pay an up-front sales charge, you may consider buying Class B shares. Class A shares may be a good choice if you qualify to have the sales charge reduced or eliminated. In almost all cases, if you plan to buy $250,000 of shares or more, Class A is the most economical choice. You should also consider the distribution and service fees, which are lower for Class A shares. These fees appear in the table called Annual operating expenses deducted from the Fund's assets. Your investment representative should be able to advise you about the best class of shares for you. [Chase logo] Buying Fund shares You can buy shares three ways: Through your investment representative Tell your representative which Funds you want to buy and he or she will contact us. Your representative may charge you a fee and may offer additional services, such as special purchase and redemption programs, "sweep" programs, cash advances and redemption checks. Your representative may set different minimum investments and earlier deadlines to buy and sell shares. Through the Chase Vista Funds Service Center Complete the application form and mail it along with a check for the amount you want to invest to: Chase Vista Funds Service Center, P.O. Box 419392 Kansas City, MO 64141-6392 Through a Systematic Investment Plan You can make regular automatic purchases of at least $100. There's more on the Systematic Investment Plan later. Whether you choose Class A or Class B shares, the price of the shares is based on the net asset value per share (NAV). NAV is the value of everything the Fund owns, minus everything it owes, divided by the number of shares held by investors. You'll pay the public offering price which is based on the next NAV calculated after the Chase Vista Service Center accepts your instructions. Each Fund calculates its NAV once each day based on prices at the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Each Fund generally values its assets at their market value but may use fair value if market prices are unavailable. The Chase Vista Service Center will not accept your order until it is in proper form. An 29 HOW YOUR ACCOUNT WORKS order is in proper form only after payment is converted into federal funds. The center accepts purchase orders on any business day that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York Stock Exchange are open. Normally, if the Chase Vista Funds Service Center receives your order in proper form by the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, we'll process your order at that day's price. You must provide a SSN or Taxpayer Identification Number when you open an account. Each Fund has the right to refuse any purchase order or to stop offering shares for sale at any time. TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT, BUY OR SELL SHARES OR GET FUND INFORMATION, CALL: CHASE VISTA FUNDS SERVICE CENTER 1-800-34-VISTA MINIMUM INVESTMENTS
TYPE OF INITIAL ADDITIONAL ACCOUNT INVESTMENT INVESTMENTS REGULAR ACCOUNT $ 2,500 $ 100 SYSTEMATIC INVESTMENT PLAN $ 1,000 $ 100 IRAs $ 1,000 $ 100 SEP-IRAs $ 1,000 $ 100 EDUCATION IRAs $ 500 $ 100
Make your check out to Chase Vista Funds in U.S. dollars. We won't accept credit cards, cash, or checks from a third party. You cannot sell shares you bought by check for 15 calendar days. If you buy through an Automated Clearing House, you can't sell your shares until the payment clears. This could take more than seven business days. Your purchase will be canceled if your check doesn't clear and you'll be responsible for any expenses and losses to the Funds. Orders by wire will be canceled if the Chase Vista Funds Service Center doesn't receive payment by 4:00 pm Eastern time on the day you buy. If you're planning to exchange, sell or transfer shares to another person shortly after buying the shares, you should pay by certified check to avoid delays. The Funds will not issue certificates for Class A shares unless you request them and they will not issue certificates for Class B shares. [Chase logo] 30 Selling Fund shares You can sell your shares three ways: Through your investment representative Tell your representative which Funds you want to sell. He or she will send the necessary documents to the Chase Vista Funds Service Center. Your representative might charge you for this service. Through the Chase Vista Funds Service Center Call 1-800-34-VISTA. We will mail you a check or send the proceeds via electronic transfer or wire. If you have changed your address of record within the previous 30 days, or if you sell $25,000 or more worth of Fund shares by phone, we'll send the proceeds via electronic transfer or by wire only to a bank account on our records. We charge $10 for each transaction by wire. Or Send a signed letter with your instructions to: Chase Vista Funds Service Center, P.O. Box 419392 Kansas City, MO 64141-6392 Through a Systematic Withdrawal Plan You can automatically sell as little as $50 worth of shares. See Shareholder Services for details. You can sell your shares on any day the Chase Vista Funds Service Center is accepting purchase orders, either directly or through your investment representative. You'll receive the next NAV calculated after the Chase Vista Funds Service Center accepts your order, less any applicable sales charges. Under normal circumstances, if the Chase Vista Funds Service Center receives your order before the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, a Fund will send you the proceeds the next business day. We won't accept an order to sell shares if the Fund hasn't collected your payment for the shares. Each Fund may stop accepting orders to sell and may postpone payments for more than seven days, as federal securities laws permit. You'll need to have signatures guaranteed for all registered owners or their legal representative if: o you want to sell shares with a net asset value of $100,000 or more o you want your payment sent to an address other than the one we have in our records. We may also need additional documents or a letter from a surviving joint owner before selling the shares. Contact the Chase Vista Funds Service Center for more details. [Chase logo] 31 HOW YOUR ACCOUNT WORKS Exchanging Fund shares You can exchange your shares for shares of the same class of certain other Chase Vista Funds at net asset value. For tax purposes, an exchange is treated as a sale of Fund shares. This will generally result in a capital gain or loss to you. You can exchange your shares three ways: Through your investment representative Tell your representative which Funds you want to exchange from and to. He or she will send the necessary documents to the Chase Vista Funds Service Center. Your representative might charge you for this service. Through the Chase Vista Funds Service Center Call 1-800-34-VISTA to ask for details. Through a Systematic Exchange Plan You can automatically exchange money from one Chase Vista account to another of the same class. Call the Chase Vista Service Center for details. If you exchange Class B shares of a Fund for class B shares of another Chase Vista Fund, you will not pay a deferred sales charge until you sell the shares of the other fund. The amount of deferred sales charge will be based on when you bought the original shares, not when you made the exchange. Carefully read the prospectus of the fund you want to buy before making an exchange. You'll need to meet any minimum investment requirements. You should not exchange shares as means of short-term trading as this could increase management cost and affect all shareholders. We reserve the right to limit the number of exchanges or to refuse an exchange. We may also terminate this privilege. We charge an administration fee of $5 for each exchange if you make more than 10 exchanges in a year or three in a quarter. See the section on Statement of Additional Information to find out more about the exchange privilege. [Chase logo] Other information concerning the Funds We may close your Fund account if the balance falls below $500 because you've sold shares. We may also close the account if you are in the Systematic Investment Plan and fail to meet investment minimums over a 12-month period. We'll give you 60 days notice before closing your account. Unless you indicate otherwise on your account application, we are authorized to act on redemption and transfer instructions received by phone. If someone trades on your account by phone, we'll ask that person to confirm your account registration and address to make sure they match those you provided us. If they give us the correct information, we are generally authorized 32 to follow that person's instructions. We'll take all reasonable precautions to confirm that the instructions are genuine. Investors agree that they will not hold a Fund liable for any loss or expenses from any sales request, if the Fund takes reasonable precautions. A Fund will be liable for any losses to you from an unauthorized sale or fraud against you if we do not follow reasonable procedures. You may not always reach the Chase Vista Funds Service Center by telephone. This may be true at times of unusual market changes and shareholder activity. You can mail us your instructions or contact your investment representative or agent. We may modify or cancel the sale of shares by phone without notice. The Trust has agreements with certain shareholder servicing agents (including Chase) under which the shareholder servicing agents have agreed to provide certain support services to their customers. For performing these services, each shareholder servicing agent receives an annual fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the Class A and Class B shares of a Fund held by customers of the shareholder servicing agent. Chase and/or VFD may, at their own expense, make additional payments to certain selected dealers or other shareholder servicing agents for performing administrative services for their customers. The amount may be up to an additional 0.10% annually of the average net assets of the fund attributable to shares of a Fund held by customers of those shareholder servicing agents. Each Fund may issue multiple classes of shares. This prospectus relates only to Class A shares of the Funds and Class B Shares of the Tax Free Income Fund and New York Tax Free Income Fund. Each class may have different requirements for who may invest, and may have different sales charges and expense levels. A person who gets compensated for selling Fund shares may receive a different amount for each class. Chase and its affiliates and the Funds and their affiliates, agents and subagents may share information about shareholders and their accounts with each other and with others unless this sharing is prohibited by contract. This information can be used for a variety of purposes, including offering investment and insurance products to shareholders. [Chase logo] Distributions and taxes The Funds can earn income and they can realize capital gain. The Funds will deduct from these earnings any expenses and then pay to shareholders the distributions. The Funds declare dividends daily and distribute the net investment income and tax-exempt interest income monthly. Net capital gain 33 HOW YOUR ACCOUNT WORKS is distributed annually. You have three options for your distributions. o Reinvest all of them in additional Fund shares without a sales charge; o Take distributions of net investment income and tax-exempt interest income in cash or as a deposit in a pre-assigned bank account and reinvest distributions of net capital gain in additional shares; or o Take all distributions in cash or as a deposit in a pre-assigned bank account. If you don't select an option when you open your account, we'll reinvest all distributions. If your distributions are reinvested, they will be in the form of shares of the same class. The taxation of dividends won't be affected by the form in which you receive them. Dividends of net investment income are usually taxable as ordinary income at the federal, state and local levels. Dividends of tax-exempt interest income are not subject to federal income taxes but will generally be subject to state and local taxes. However, for the New York Tax Free Income Fund, New York residents will not have to pay New York State or New York City personal income taxes on tax-exempt income from New York municipal obligations. Similarly, for the California Tax Free Income Fund, California residents will not have to pay California personal income taxes on tax-exempt income from California municipal obligations. The state or municipality where you live may not charge you state and local taxes on tax-exempt interest earned on certain bonds. Dividends earned on bonds issued by the U.S. government and its agencies may also be exempt from some types of state and local taxes. If you receive distributions of net capital gain, the tax rate will be based on how long the Fund held a particular asset, not on how long you have owned your shares. If you buy shares just before a distribution, you will pay tax on the entire amount of the taxable distribution you receive, even though the NAV will be higher on that date because it includes the distribution amount. Early in each calendar year, each Fund will send you a notice showing the amount of distributions you received in the preceding year and the tax status of those distributions. The above is only a general summary of tax implications of investing in the Funds. Please consult your tax adviser to see how investing in a Fund will affect your own tax situation. [Chase logo] 34 SHAREHOLDER SERVICES Shareholder services SYSTEMATIC INVESTMENT PLAN Regularly invest $100 or more in the first or third week of any month. The money is automatically deducted from your checking or savings account. You can set up a plan when you open an account by completing the appropriate section of the application. Current shareholders can join by sending a signed letter and a deposit slip or void check to the Chase Vista Funds Service Center. Call 1-800-34-VISTA for complete instructions. SYSTEMATIC WITHDRAWAL PLAN Make regular withdrawals of $50 or more ($100 or more for Class B accounts). You can have automatic withdrawals made monthly, quarterly or semiannually. Your account must contain at least $5,000 of Class A shares or $20,000 of Class B shares to start the plan. Call 1-800-34-VISTA for complete instructions. SYSTEMATIC EXCHANGE Transfer assets automatically from one Vista account to another on a regular basis. It's a free service. [Chase logo] 35 What the terms mean DISTRIBUTION FEE: Covers the cost of the distribution system used to sell shares to the public. FORWARD COMMITMENTS: A type of investment where the Fund buys securities to be delivered in the future. INTEREST RATE CAPS: Financial instruments where payment occurs if an interest rate index exceeds the cap rate. The cap rate is set ahead of time and is tied to a specific index. INVERSE FLOATERS: Instruments whose interest rates move in the opposite direction from the interest rate on another security or the value of an index. LIQUIDITY: Liquidity is the ability to easily convert investments into cash without losing a significant amount of money in the process. MANAGEMENT FEE: A fee paid to the investment adviser to manage the Fund and make decisions about buying and selling the Fund's investments. MATURITY: Maturity is the length of time until the issuer who sold a debt security must pay back the principal amount of the debt. MUNICIPAL LEASE OBLIGATIONS: These provide participation in municipal lease agreements and installment purchase contracts, but are not part of the general obligations of the municipality. MUNICIPAL OBLIGATIONS: Debt securities issued by or on behalf of states, territories and possessions or by their agencies or other groups with authority to act for them. For these securities to qualify as municipal obligations, the municipality's lawyers must give an opinion that the interest on them is not subject to federal income taxes. OTHER EXPENSES: Miscellaneous items, including transfer agency, administration, shareholder servicing, custody and registration fees. REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS: A type of short-term investment in which a dealer sells securities to the Fund and agrees to buy them back later for a set price. This set price includes interest. In effect, the dealer is borrowing the Fund's money for a short time, using the securities as collateral. SHAREHOLDER SERVICE FEE: A fee to cover the cost of paying shareholder servicing agents to provide certain support services for your account. YIELD CURVE: A measure showing the relationship among yields of similar bonds with different maturities. ZERO COUPON SECURITIES: Debt securities which do not pay regular interest payments. Instead, they are sold at substantial discounts from their value at maturity. [Chase logo] 36 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Chase Vista Tax Free Income Fund The Financial Highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund's financial performance for the past five years. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The table set forth below provides selected per share data and ratios for one Class A Share and one Class B Share. This information is supplemented by financial statements including accompanying notes appearing in the Fund's Annual Report to Shareholders for the year ended August 31, 1999, which is incorporated by reference into the SAI. Shareholders may obtain a copy of this annual report by contacting the Fund or their Shareholder Servicing Agent. The financial statements which include the financial information in the table below, have been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent accountants, whose report thereon is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders. CLASS A
Year Year Year Year Year ended ended ended ended ended 8/31/99 8/31/98 8/31/97 8/31/96 8/31/95 PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $ 12.32 $ 11.84 $ 11.85 $ 11.70 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Income from Investment Operations: Net Investment Income 0.562 0.579 0.580 0.585 Net Gains or Losses in Securities (both realized and unrealized) 0.572 0.484 (0.007) 0.147 ------- ------- -------- ------- Total from Investment Operations 1.134 1.063 0.573 0.732 Less Distributions: Dividends from Net Investment Income 0.564 0.583 0.583 0.582 Distributions from capital gains -- -- -- -- ------- ------- -------- ------- Total Distributions 0.564 0.583 0.583 0.582 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Asset Value, End of Period $ 12.89 $ 12.32 $ 11.84 $ 11.85 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TOTAL RETURN(1) 9.38% 9.14% 4.88% 6.53% - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets, End of Period (000 omitted) $60,961 $62,729 $ 70,480 $88,783 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets 0.80% 0.90% 0.90% 0.85% - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Net Income to Average Net Assets 4.44% 4.78% 4.83% 5.07% - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Expenses without waivers and assumption of expenses to Average Net Assets 1.31% 1.29% 1.46% 1.47% - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Net Investments Income without waivers and assumption of expenses to Average Net Assets 3.93% 4.39% 4.27% 4.45% - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Portfolio Turnover Rate 172% 147% 210% 233% - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
37 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS CLASS B
Year Year Year Year Year ended ended ended ended ended 8/31/99 8/91/98 8/31/97 8/31/96 8/31/95 PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $ 12.25 $ 11.76 $ 11.77 $ 11.65 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income from Investment Operations: Net Investment Income 0.446 0.484 0.486 0.498 Net Gains or Losses in Securities (both realized and unrealized) 0.573 0.478 (0.006) 0.140 ------- ------- -------- ------- Total from Investment Operations 1.019 0.962 0.480 0.638 Less Distributions: Dividends from net investment income 0.450 0.472 0.490 0.518 Distributions from capital gains -- -- -- -- ------- ------- -------- ------- Total Distributions 0.450 0.472 0.490 0.518 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $ 12.82 $ 12.25 $ 11.76 $ 11.77 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN(1) 8.45% 8.30% 4.10% 5.70% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (000 omitted) $15,415 $13,610 $ 14,329 $14,265 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets 1.64% 1.64% 1.65% 1.61% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Income to Average Net Assets 3.60% 4.04% 4.08% 4.31% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Expenses without waivers and assumption of expenses to Average Net Assets 1.81% 1.79% 1.95% 1.97% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investments Income without waivers and assumption of expenses to Average Net Assets 3.43% 3.89% 3.78% 3.95% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio Turnover Rate 172% 147% 210% 233% - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1)Total returns are calculated before taking into account effect of front-end or deferred sales charge. #Short periods have been annualized. 38 Chase Vista New York Tax Free Income Fund The Financial Highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund's financial performance for the past five years. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The table set forth below provides selected per share data and ratios for one Class A Share and one Class B Share. This information is supplemented by financial statements including accompanying notes appearing in the Fund's Annual Report to Shareholders for the year ended August 31, 1999, which is incorporated by reference into the SAI. Shareholders may obtain a copy of this annual report by contacting the Fund or their Shareholder Servicing Agent. The financial statements which include the financial information in the table below, have been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent accountants, whose report thereon is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders.
CLASS A Year Year Year Year Year ended ended ended ended ended 8/31/99 8/31/98 8/31/97 8/31/96 8/31/95 PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $ 11.80 $ 11.39 $ 11.47 $ 11.30 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income from Investment Operations: Net Investment Income 0.544 0.555 0.555 0.570 Net Gains or (Losses) in Securities (both realized and unrealized) 0.497 0.432 (0.077) 0.167 -------- ------- -------- -------- Total from Investment Operations 1.041 0.987 0.478 0.737 Less Distributions: Dividends from Net Investment Income 0.544 0.554 0.558 0.567 Distributions from Capital Gains 0.117 0.023 -- -- -------- ------- -------- -------- Total Distributions 0.661 0.577 0.558 0.567 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $ 12.18 $ 11.80 $ 11.39 $ 11.47 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN(1) 9.03% 8.85% 4.20% 6.82% - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (000 omitted) $110,877 $83,208 $ 96,102 $104,168 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets 0.79% 0.90% 0.90% 0.85% - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average 4.52% 4.77% 4.76% 5.11% - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets Ratio of Expenses without waivers and assumption of expenses to Average Net Assets 1.21% 1.18% 1.27% 1.37% - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income without waivers and assumption of expenses to Average Net Assets 4.10% 4.49% 4.39% 4.59% - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio Turnover Rate 91% 107% 156% 122% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
39 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS CLASS B
Year Year Year Year Year ended ended ended ended ended 8/31/99 8/31/98 8/31/97 8/31/96 8/31/95 PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $ 11.76 $ 11.33 $ 11.41 $ 11.27 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income from Investment Operations: Net Investment Income 0.443 0.465 0.469 0.485 Net Gains or (Losses) in Securities (both realized and unrealized) 0.510 0.430 (0.086) 0.162 ------- ------- -------- ------- Total from Investment Operations 0.953 0.895 0.383 0.647 Less Distributions: Dividends from net Investment Income 0.436 0.442 0.463 0.507 Distributions from capital gains 0.117 0.023 -- -- ------- ------- -------- ------- Total Distributions 0.553 0.465 0.463 0.507 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $ 12.16 $ 11.76 $ 11.33 $ 11.41 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN(1) 8.27% 8.03% 3.46% 5.99% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (000 omitted) $14,796 $13,501 $ 13,667 $10,633 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets 1.64% 1.64% 1.65% 1.61% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average 3.68% 4.03% 4.01% 4.35% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets Ratio of Expenses without waivers and assumption of expenses to Average Net Assets 1.71% 1.68% 1.76% 1.87% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income without waivers and assumption of expenses to Average Net Assets 3.61% 3.99% 3.90% 4.09% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio Turnover Rate 91% 107% 156% 122% - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1)Total return figures are calculated before taking into account effect of front-end or deferred sales charge. #Short periods have been annualized. 40 Chase Vista California Intermediate Tax Free Income Fund The Financial Highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund's financial performance for the past five years. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The table set forth below provides selected per share data and ratios for one Share outstanding throughout each period shown. This information is supplemented by financial statements including accompanying notes appearing in the Fund's Annual Report to Shareholders for the year ended August 31, 1999, which is incorporated by reference into the SAI. Shareholders may obtain a copy of this annual report by contacting the Fund or their Shareholder Servicing Agent. The financial statements which include the financial information in the table below, have been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent accountants, whose report thereon is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders.
Year Year Year Year Year ended ended ended ended ended 8/31/99 8/31/98 8/31/97 8/31/96 8/31/95 PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $ 10.07 $ 9.81 $ 9.89 $ 9.69 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income from Investment Operations: Net Investment Income 0.447 0.461 0.473 0.505 Net Gains or (Losses) in Securities (both realized and unrealized) 0.319 0.256 0.013 0.200 -------- ------ ------ ------- Total from Investment Operations 0.766 0.717 0.486 0.705 Less Distributions: Dividends from Net Investment Income 0.446 0.458 0.476 0.505 Distributions from Capital Gains 0.100 -- 0.090 -- -------- ------ ------ ------- Total Distributions 0.546 0.458 0.566 0.505 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $ 10.29 $10.07 $ 9.81 $ 9.89 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN(1) 7.81% 7.46% 5.00% 7.55% - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
41 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Year Year Year Year Year ended ended ended ended ended 8/31/99 8/31/98 8/31/97 8/31/96 8/31/95 RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (000 omitted) $ 23,996 $ 25,525 $ 28,298 $ 32,746 - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets 0.60% 0.60% 0.60% 0.52% - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets 4.38% 4.65% 4.77% 5.24% - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Expenses without waivers and assumption of expenses to Average Net Assets 1.44% 1.33% 1.47% 1.40% - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income without waivers and assumption of expenses to Average Net Assets 3.54% 3.92% 3.90% 4.36% - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio Turnover Rate 44% 66% 188% 94% - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1)Total returns are calculated before taking into account effect of front-end sales charge. #Short periods have been annualized. 42 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK HOW TO REACH US More information You'll find more information about the Funds in the following documents: ANNUAL AND SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS Our annual and semi-annual reports contain more information about each Fund's investments and performance. The annual report also includes details about the market conditions and investment strategies that had a significant effect on each Fund's performance during the last fiscal year. STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (SAI) The SAI contains more detailed information about the Funds and their policies. It is incorporated by reference into this prospectus. That means, by law, it's considered to be part of this prospectus. You can get a free copy of these documents and other information, or ask us any questions, by calling us at 1-800-62-CHASE or writing to: Chase Vista Funds Service Center P.O. Box 419392 Kansas City, MO 64141-6392 If you buy your shares through The Chase Manhattan Bank or another institution, you should contact that institution directly for more information. You can also find information on-line at www.chasevista.com on the internet. You can write the SEC's Public Reference Room and ask them to mail you information about the Funds, including the SAI. They'll charge you a copying fee for this service. You can also visit the Public Reference Section and copy the documents while you're there. Public Reference Section of the SEC Washington, DC 20549-6009. 1-800-SEC-0330 Reports, a copy of the SAI and other information about the Funds is also available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The Fund's Investment Company Act File No. is 811-8358. Chase Vista Funds Fulfillment Center 393 Manley Street West Bridgewater, MA 02379-1039 MUTUAL FUND TRUST PART C. OTHER INFORMATION ITEM 23. Exhibits Exhibit Number - ------- 1 Declaration of Trust. (1) 2 By-laws. (1) 3 None. 4(a) Form of Investment Advisory Agreement.(6) 4(b) Form of Investment Subadvisory Agreement between The Chase Manhattan Bank and Chase Asset Management, Inc.(6) 4(c) Form of Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between The Chase Manhattan Bank and Texas Commerce Bank, National Association. (7) 5 Distribution and Sub-Administration Agreement dated August 21, 1995.(6) 6(a) Retirement Plan for Eligible Trustees.(6) 6(b) Deferred Compensation Plan for Eligible Trustees.(6) 7 Form of Custodian Agreement. (1) 8(a) Form of Transfer Agency Agreement. (1) 8(b) Form of Shareholder Servicing Agreement. (6) 8(c) Form of Administration Agreement.(6) 9 Opinion of Reid & Priest re: Legality of Securities being Registered. (2) 10 Consent of Price Waterhouse LLP. (11) 11 Financial statements: In Part B: Financial Statements and the Reports thereon for the Funds filed herein for the fiscal year ended August 31, 1998 are incorporated by reference into Part B as part of the 1998 Annual Reports to Shareholders for such Funds as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Registrant on Form N-30D on October 29, 1998, accession number 0000950146-98-001764, on Form N-30D on October 29, 1998, accession number 0000950146-98-001772 and on Form N-30D on October 29, 1998, accession number 0000950146-98-001773. Financial Statements and the Reports thereon for The 100% U.S. Treasury Securities Money Market Fund and The Cash Management Fund of The Hanover Funds, Inc. for the fiscal year ended November 30, 1995 are incorporated by reference into Part B as part of the 1995 Annual Reports to Shareholders for such funds as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by The Hanover Funds, Inc. on Form N-30D on February 2, 1996, accession number 0000950123-96-000335. 12 None. 13(a) Forms of Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plans including Selected Dealer Agreements and Shareholder Service Agreements. (1) and (3) 13(b) Form of Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan (including forms of Selected Dealer Agreement and Shareholder Servicing Agreement).(6) 13(c) Form of Rule 12b-1 Plan - Class C Shares (including forms of Shareholder Servicing Agreements). (12) C-1 14. Financial Data Schedule. (8) 15. Form of Rule 18f-3 Multi-Class Plan. (12) 99(a) Power of Attorney for: Fergus Reid, III, H. Richard Vartabedian, William J. Armstrong, John R. H. Blum, Stuart W. Cragin, Jr., Joseph J. Harkins, Irving L. Thode, W. Perry Neff, Roland R. Eppley, Jr., W. D. MacCallan. (9) 99(b) Powers of Attorney for: Sarah E. Jones and Leonard M. Spalding, Jr. (12) - ------------------- (1) Filed as an Exhibit to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Registrant (File No. 33-75250) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 1994. (2) Filed as an Exhibit to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Registrant (File No. 33-75250) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 18, 1994. (3) Filed as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Registrant (File No. 33-75250) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 29, 1994. (4) Filed as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Registrant (File No. 33-75250) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 28, 1994. (5) Filed as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Registrant (File No. 33- 75250) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 31, 1995. (6) Filed as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 4 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Registrant as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 28, 1995. (7) Filed as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 5 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Registrant as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 7, 1996. (8) Filed as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 6 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Registrant as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 22, 1996. (9) Filed as an exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 7 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Registrant as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 6, 1996. (10) Filed as an exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Registrant as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 27, 1996. (11) To be filed by amendment. (12) Filed as an exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 10 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Registrant as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 27, 1997. ITEM 24. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with Registrant Not applicable C-2 ITEM 25. Indemnification Reference is hereby made to Article V of the Registrant's Declaration of Trust. The Trustees and officers of the Registrant and the personnel of the Registrant's investment adviser, administrator and distributor are insured under an errors and omissions liability insurance policy. The Registrant and its officers are also insured under the fidelity bond required by Rule 17g-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the terms of the Registrant's Declaration of Trust, the Registrant may indemnify any person who was or is a Trustee, officer or employee of the Registrant to the maximum extent permitted by law; provided, however, that any such indemnification (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the Registrant only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of such persons is proper in the circumstances. Such determination shall be made (i) by the Trustees, by a majority vote of a quorum which consists of Trustees who are neither in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, nor parties to the proceeding, or (ii) if the required quorum is not obtainable or, if a quorum of such Trustees so directs, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion. No indemnification will be provided by the Registrant to any Trustee or officer of the Registrant for any liability to the Registrant or shareholders to which he would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of duty. Insofar as the conditional advancing of indemnification monies for actions based upon the Investment Company Act of 1940 may be concerned, such payments will be made only on the following conditions: (i) the advances must be limited to amounts used, or to be used, for the preparation or presentation of a defense to the action, including costs connected with the preparation of a settlement; (ii) advances may be made only upon receipt of a written promise by, or on behalf of, the recipient to repay that amount of the advance which exceeds that amount to which it is ultimately determined that he is entitled to receive from the Registrant by reason of indemnification; and (iii) (a) such promise must be secured by a surety bond, other suitable insurance or an equivalent form of security which assures that any repayments may be obtained by the Registrant without delay or litigation, which bond, insurance or other form of security must be provided by the recipient of the advance, or (b) a majority of a quorum of the Registrant's disinterested, non-party Trustees, or an independent legal counsel in a written opinion, shall determine, based upon a review of readily available facts, that the recipient of the advance ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification. Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against C-3 such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a trustee, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such trustee, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of it counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. ITEM 26(a) Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser The Chase Manhattan Bank (the "Adviser") is a commercial bank providing a wide range of banking and investment services. To the knowledge of the Registrant, none of the Directors or executive officers of the Adviser, except those described below, are or have been, at any time during the past two years, engaged in any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature, except that certain Directors and executive officers of the Adviser also hold or have held various positions with bank and non-bank affiliates of the Adviser, including its parent, The Chase Manhattan Corporation. Each Director listed below is also a Director of The Chase Manhattan Corporation.
Principal Occupation or Other Position with Employment of a Substantial Name the Adviser Nature During Past Two Years - ---- ------------- ----------------------------- Thomas G. Labreque Chairman of the Board, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer Chief Executive Officer and a Director of The Chase and Director Manhattan Corporation and a Director of AMAX, Inc. Richard J. Boyle Vice Chairman of the Vice Chairman of the Board and a Board and Director Director of The Chase Manhattan Corporation and Trustee of Prudential Realty Trust Robert R. Douglass Vice Chairman of the Vice Chairman of the Board and a Board and Director Director of The Chase Manhattan Corporation and Trustee of HRE Properties Joan Ganz Cooney Director Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, formerly Chief Executive Officer of Children's Television Workshop and a Director of each of Johnson & Johnson, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Xerox Corporation Edward S. Finkelstein Director Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Director of R.H. Macy & Co., Inc. and a Director of Time Warner Inc.
C-4
Principal Occupation or Other Position with Employment of a Substantial Name the Adviser Nature During Past Two Years - ---- ------------- ----------------------------- H. Laurance Fuller Director Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Amoco Corporation and Director of Abbott Laboratories Howard C. Kauffman Director Retired President of Exxon Corporation and a Director of each of Pfizer Inc. and Ryder System, Inc. Henry B. Schacht Director Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cummins Engine Company, Inc. and a Director of each of American Telephone and Telegraph Company and CBS Inc. A. Alfred Taubman Director Chairman and Director, formerly also Chief Executive Officer, of The Taubman Company, Inc., majority shareholder and Chairman of Sotheby's Holdings, Inc., owner of Woodward & Lothrop, Inc. and its subsidiary, John Wanamaker, and Chairman of A&W Restaurants, Inc. and a Director of R.H. Macy & Co., Inc.
C-5
Principal Occupation or Other Position with Employment of a Substantial Name the Adviser Nature During Past Two Years - ---- ------------- ----------------------------- Kay R. Whitmore Director Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer and Director of Eastman Kodak Company
Item 26(b) Chase Asset Management ("CAM" is an Investment Advisor providing investment services to institutional clients. To the knowledge of the Registrant, none of the Directors or executive officers of the CAM, except those described below, are or have been, at any time during the past two years, engaged in any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature, except that certain Directors and executive officers of the CAM also held or have held various positions with bank and non-bank affiliates of the Advisor, including its parent. The Chase Manhattan Corporation.
Principal Occupation or Other Position with Employment of a Substantial Name the Adviser Nature During Past Two Years - ---- ------------- ----------------------------- James Zeigon Chairman and Director Director of Chase Asset Management (London) Limited Steven Prostano Executive Vice President Chief Operating Officer and Chief Operating Officer and Director of Chase Asset Management (London) Limited Mark Richardson President and Chief Chief Investment Officer Investment Officer and Director of Chase Asset Management (London) Limited
Item 26(c) Texas Commerce Bank National Association ("TCB") is an Investment Adviser and its business has been that of a national bank. To the knowledge of the Registrant, none of the Directors or executive officers of TCB, except those described below, are or have been, at any time during the past two years, engaged in any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature, except that certain Directors or executive officers of TCB also hold or have held various positions with bank and non-bank affiliates of the Adviser, including its parent, The Chase Manhattan Corporation.
Principal Occupation or Other Position with Employment of a Substantial Name Sub-Adviser Nature During Past Two Years - ---- ------------- ----------------------------- John L. Adams Director, Vice Chairman None Elaine B. Agather Chairman and CEO, TCB- None Fort Worth, Vice Chairman, TCB-Metroplex C-6 Principal Occupation or Other Position with Employment of a Substantial Name Sub-Adviser Nature During Past Two Years - ---- ------------- ----------------------------- David W. Biegler Director Chairman, President and CEO, ENSERCH Corporation, 300 South St. Paul St., Dallas, TX 75201 Robert W. Bishop Executive Vice President None Alan R. Buckwalter, III Director, Vice Chairman None H. Worth Burke Executive Vice President None Charles W. Duncan Director Investments, 600 Travis, Houston, TX 77002-3007 Dan S. Hallmark Chairman and CEO None TCB-Beaumont Dennis R. Hendrix Director Chairman, PanEnergy Corp., P.O. Box 1642, Houston, TX 77251-1642 Harold S. Hook Director Chairman and CEO, American General Corporation, P.O. Box 3247, Houston TX 77253 C-7 Principal Occupation or Other Position with Employment of a Substantial Name Sub-Adviser Nature During Past Two Years - ---- ------------- ----------------------------- Robert C. Hunter Director, Vice Chairman None Ed Jones President and CEO, TCB- None Midland R. Bruce LaBoon Director Managing Partner, Liddell, Sapp, Zivley, Hill & LaBoon, L.L.P., 3400 Texas Commerce Tower, Houston, TX 77002-3004 Shelaghmichael Executive Vice President None C. Lents S. Todd Maclin President, TCB-Dallas, None Executive Vice President Beverly H. McCaskill Executive Vice President None Joe C. McKinney Chairman and CEO TCB-San None Antonio C-8 Principal Occupation or Other Position with Employment of a Substantial Name Sub-Adviser Nature During Past Two Years - ---- ------------- ----------------------------- Scott J. McLean Chairman and CEO TCB-El Paso None Randal B. McLelland President and CEO, TCB- None Rio Grande Valley David L. Mendez Executive Vice President None W. Merriman Morton Chairman and CEO TCB-Austin None Paul Poullard Exective Vice President None Jeffrey B. Reitman General Counsel None Edward N. Robinson Executive Vice President None Ann V. Rogers Executive Vice President None C-9 Principal Occupation or Other Position with Employment of a Substantial Name Sub-Adviser Nature During Past Two Years - ---- ------------- ----------------------------- Marc J. Shapiro Director, Chairman, None President and CEO Larry L. Shryock Executive Vice President None Kenneth L. Tilton Executive Vice President None and Controller Harriet S. Wasserstrum Executive Vice President None Gary K. Wright Executive Vice President None
ITEM 27. Principal Underwriters (a) Vista Fund Distributors, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The BISYS Group, Inc. is the underwriter for the Registrant. (b) The following are the Directors and officers of Vista Fund Distributors, Inc. The principal business address of each of these persons, with the exception of Mr. Spicer, is 101 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10178. The principal business address of Mr. Spicer is One Bush Street, San Francisco, California 94104.
Position and Offices Position and Offices Name with Distributor with the Registrant - ---- -------------------- -------------------- William B. Blundin Director Chief Executive Officer None Richard E. Stierwalt Director Chief Operating Officer None Timothy M. Spicer Director Chairman of the Board None Joseph Kissel President None George Martinez Chief Compliance Officer Secretary and and Secretary Assistant Treasurer
(c) Not applicable ITEM 28. Location of Accounts and Records The accounts and records of the Registrant are located, in whole or in part, at the office of the Registrant and the following locations: C-10 Name Address ---- ------- Vista Fund Distributors, Inc. 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 41st Floor New York, NY 10036 DST Systems, Inc. 210 W. 10th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105 The Chase Manhattan Bank 270 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017 The Chase Manhattan Bank One Chase Square, Rochester, NY 14363 Chase Asset Management, Inc. 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036 Chase Bank of Texas, National Association 600 Travis, Houston, TX 77002 ITEM 29. Management Services Not applicable ITEM 30. Undertakings Registrant undertakes that its trustees shall promptly call a meeting of shareholders of the Trust for the purpose of voting upon the question of removal of any such trustee or trustees when requested in writing so to do by the record holders of not less than 10 per centum of the outstanding shares of the Trust. In addition, the Registrant shall, in certain circumstances, give such shareholders assistance in communicating with other shareholders of a fund as required by Section 16(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. C-11 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment to its Registration Statement on Form N-1A to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York and the State of New York on the 28th day of October, 1999. MUTUAL FUND TRUST By /s/ H. Richard Vartabedian -------------------------- H. Richard Vartabedian President Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Post-Effective Amendment to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated. * Chairman October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- and Trustee Fergus Reid, III * Trustee October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- William J. Armstrong * Trustee October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- John R.H. Blum * Trustee October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- Joseph J. Harkins * - ------------------------------- Trustee October 28, 1999 Richard E. Ten Haken * Trustee October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- Stuart W. Cragin, Jr. * Trustee October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- Irving L. Thode /s/ H. Richard Vartabedian President October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- and Trustee H. Richard Vartabedian * Trustee October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- W. Perry Neff * Trustee October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- Roland R. Eppley, Jr. * Trustee October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- W.D. MacCallan Trustee October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- Sarah E. Jones Trustee October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- Leonard M. Spalding /s/ Martin Dean Treasurer and October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- Principal Martin Dean Accounting Officer /s/ H. Richard Vartabedian Attorney in Fact October 28, 1999 - ------------------------------- H. Richard Vartabedian -----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----